The son of the man accused of plotting to assassinate former President Donald Trump at his golf course has been arrested in connection with a child sex abuse images case.
Oran Alexander Routh was charged in federal court Monday with one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. Court records from the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina show that he was arrested Tuesday and that there was no attorney listed for him.
Public records show that Oran Routh is the son of Ryan Wesley Routh, the man authorities believed planned to kill Trump at the former president’s golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15. A senior U.S. law enforcement official also confirmed the father-son connection to NBC News after the younger Routh was arrested.
Ryan Routh was charged Tuesday with attempting to kill Trump, the Department of Justice announced. He is also charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number and assaulting a Secret Service agent, according to federal prosecutors.
Ryan Routh is in custody pending trial and faces a maximum of life in prison if convicted.
The criminal complaint filed against Oran Routh states that his North Carolina home was searched in connection to an unrelated case. It’s unclear if that case was the investigation into his father.
According to a criminal complaint, the FBI searched Oran Routh’s home in North Carolina on Saturday. A review of an SD card in a Samsung phone found in his bedroom allegedly uncovered “hundreds” of files containing child sex abuse images.
Files included videos from a “known” series that includes videos of an adult man with a “prepubescent” girl under the age of 10, the complaint said.
A second Samsung phone was found in Oran Routh’s possession, according to the complaint, and included a downloaded folder with additional video files. Investigators reported that they observed one video of an adult woman with a girl aged 6 to 8.
The complaint also said investigators found a messaging app on the phone that is “commonly used by individuals who distribute and receive child pornography.” The person who sent messages from the phone asked for a preview of digital content being sold, according to the complaint.
Two files were then sent, both including adults engaging in sexual acts with minors, the complaint said.
A warrant for his arrest was filed in federal court on Monday.
Routh was also charged with drug possession on the same day federal agents took his devices and later found child pornography, according to North Carolina court records. Law enforcement officers seized cocaine, MDMA and Ketamine, as well as gold and black trays with a white powdery substance at his residence, prompting two felony and two misdemeanor charges for possession, according to the records.
This case is one of at least 39 criminal cases filed over about a 17-year span against Oran Routh in North Carolina, mostly in Guilford District County, which includes the city of Greensboro. Previously, he was charged with several traffic violations, possession of narcotics and an assault of a female.
The disposition of each case was not immediately clear. In 2018, Oran did plead guilty to the assault of a female and was sentenced to 18 months of probation.
Court records show that Oran Routh is in federal custody. As of Tuesday morning, a preliminary hearing had not been scheduled and he had not entered a plea.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
